A Fort Aegis Thanksmas

[Morty]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

"An endlessly-refilling mug of coffee," Michalson remarks after trying it out. "This could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Good thing it fell into mine."

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

Calm Reed's eyebrows rise. She's not surprised by the question, as such. But it is still a forward one.

"A dangerous question to ask. Or answer. I have not seen anything to the commanders' discredit. They bear a heavy burden and they shoulder it gracefully. Reluctantly as well, if I am any judge."

[Ironsmith]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Braon turns over her gift in her hands and gives a derisive little snort. Of course. The old gift-giver's standby; "when all else fails, give money". There really wasn't much else use for this thing; it's an finely-made piece of art from expensive materials, hardly good for anything other than looking at or selling.

But... in a way, that was sort of considerate. The bear could have just given her a lump of coal or something. At least money she sort of had a use for.

"...Well, then." She mumbles to herself, pocketing the present.

[Deathkeeper]

A Very Beary Thanksmas

Aran is surprised to say the least.
"Huh. You really are the Thanksmas Bear."
He didn't know that was a real thing!

[Shadowcaller]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

It might only be good for selling, but if Braon would hold onto that strange tree for even a little while she would notice that new "fruits" would continually grow from it. Indeed, she would only need to water it and the tree would keep producing such gems forever. Also, pretty impressive for Braon to pocket an entire bonsai tree. Looked like the sock wasn't the only thing that fit stuff way too large for it.

As for the coffee cup, each time the chain is pulled the cup would only produce enough coffee to fill it up. Then you'd have to wait for 2 minutes before it could do so again. So it might not be as dangerous as one might think.

The bear claps its hands, that had been fun!

Then in a flash of emerald green, Anika gets up in her humanoid form. "And you better remember it." She tells Aran with a wink.
"But that was pretty cool, right? I knew that sock would work!" She exclaims as she turns to the others.

- - - Updated - - -

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

Calm Reed's eyebrows rise. She's not surprised by the question, as such. But it is still a forward one.

"A dangerous question to ask. Or answer. I have not seen anything to the commanders' discredit. They bear a heavy burden and they shoulder it gracefully. Reluctantly as well, if I am any judge."

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"Reluctantly? Well, I might as well tell you my own impression of them to make this fair. Wenomir is determined, though a less diplomatic person might use the word stubborn instead." The scholar flashes a small smile. "He is also something of a scholar like myself, determined to improve and master his craft regardless of how much effort he has to put into it. However, I can't help but to wonder if his dedication is connection to his resentment for a certain kind of people. The kind that are usually in charge. Probably ties the reluctantly you mentioned." She gestures to Calm Reed.

"As for Miss Mithar... well, let me ask you this first. What makes you think she's reluctant?"

[Ironsmith]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Braon wouldn't have gotten very far as a thief or an enchantress if she didn't know how to tuck things away.

But back to the present. By which I mean the here and now.

Braon's eyes widen as the bear changes into... someone who doesn't seem to be much smaller than a bear. She could have sworn the night elf was wearing a costume, but then, this is the Nexus and some people could change their shape if they wanted to. Lucky jerks.

"Yeah. Great work." She drones, trying and failing to drum up some amount of enthusiasm.

[bc56]

Reindeer Games
In Jade's head, things click into place. "That's why you keep winning! You're a precog!" She jumps back to the ground, sticking a three-point landing, two bells jingling from her fake antlers. "I guess I'll need a new strategy."

[Morty]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Michalson, for his part, isn't surprised. People turning into animals doesn't rank high on the list of things that can faze him. And the bear was clearly acting very intelligent, so its being a shape-changing elf isn't surprising. A very large elf, for sure. He didn't know elves could get this tall.

"Where'd you even get this sock? Thanksmas magic?"

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

Calm Reed has to admit that one of her commander's views seem diametrically opposed to her own. Commander Wenomir does appear driven by towering resentment over the idea of a proper societal hierarchy. She's not sure how to approach it, however.

"Commander Mithar strikes me as a scholar more than a fighter. She dislikes violence even if she knows how to use it and has the power to inflict it. She was taught to control that power and keep herself composed at all times. Much like I was when I was younger, I believe. I would like to learn more about it, as I have a feeling there are considerable similarities in our respective upbringing." She pauses. "Commander Wenomir... takes pride in his common origins."

[Deathkeeper]

A Very Beary Thanksmas

Aran sees the bear turn into a pretty elf lady and flushes. Oops, he had kind of been talking to her like a big petting zoo animal. Maybe if he steps back and says nothing they'll just forget about him.
Wait a second, was there a reason he didn't get a present? Is it because he was patronizing? Or because she's saving something for later with him in mind?

[Aurora Alchemi]

Spraypaint and Blackfire

"Eh, figured I could step away from busting baddies for a bit to come see if anyone around here is chill enough to hang with. You had just enough spunk to catch my eye, otherwise I was gonna go see if I could wrestle that moose lady or something." The dragoness gives a deep inward breath, the whole cigarette vanishing into ash. The slit eyes settle on the half-angel's face for a moment, recognizing the disgust, then the exhale comes. This time, however, it is not smoke, but a billowing plume of the blackfire, which is strangely heatless. Reaching into the plume, the hot-blooded beast pulls what looks to be a feather made of flame, which they hold and stare at for a few moments. "Not a bird? Then what's with the feathers?" The dragoness grins, the flaming feather vanishing into stardust. "You certainly aren't any angel I've ever seen. They are always high and mighty, heads all full of ideas about right and wrong, and the right way to deal with the wrongdoers. Keeps stuff from getting done, ya' know? And what's stopping you? That dragon doesn't look that tough, you could handle him no problem." The armored gal chuckles and playfully elbows the angel, intentionally going way soft.

"Yikes, home life got ya' down? I feel that. You could say my dad and I weren't on the best of terms." The woman pulls what looks to be an elder dragon tooth up on a necklace, the ends of the tooth singed and burnt by fires of heat legendary. "You don't have to tell me jack, if you don't wanna. I probably wouldn't listen anyways, featherball... but I get it. Wanna go grab some grub? There's a whole feast hall inside, and I bet flying all this way made you hungry." There is another flash of the sawteeth, but it's clear that the dragoness is trying their utmost to be at least somewhat friendly. In a kind of 'this shark would only take off three of my fingers if I fed it' way, but it's still an effort. "The name's Raine, by the way. Raine Helfeuer. What's your name?" The adventurer offers the angelkin a gauntleted hand, which would be a cool gesture since the gauntlet is covered in emblems of heroic deeds and adventurer's rankings, except that ends of the gauntlets were intentionally open and revealing the dragonesses sharp claws, like just another layer of razorwire on this warrior.

Reindeer games

"Precog? Ah don't think so. Just some really good spatial awareness, really." Tuuli helpfully lobs the missed bell back over to the fox with an underarm throw. "It's the antlers. Reuma's horns are great for magic, but she really only feels the weave out just past her body. Ahm an utter futz at the magic, but Ah can feel the way everything moves, flows and connects, out about ten or twelve paces." Tuuli softly circles, smiling the whole time, spinning a bell idly around a finger.

"uhg... Great, now I've got snow all in my dress." Reuma pulls her way up out of the snow drift. "Guess I'm donning my swimsuit and heading to the public hot spring after this anyways, just to give my clothing a chance to dry..." The pronghorn mutters lowly, before looking around, seeing what options there were to keep in the game.

[Shadowcaller]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

"Aw, come on dude. Why're you so gloomy?" Anika inquires as she sees Braon's miserable attempt at pretense. This gal obviously had some cool magic, just got a gift and was in a really happy place. So if something was still bothering her it had to be pretty major. "Anything I can do to help?" If the thankmas bear couldn't cheer her up, what could?

Then she realizes that she was being addressed by... guard-guy too. "...I just found it around here. It's part of that Winter Veil magic. I'm Anika by the way." She waves at the two and then turns to Aran to give him a quick two-fingered salute.

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"You find this surprising? I don't believe that it's uncommon for people to take pride in gaining something through their own efforts. To overcome the odds so to speak. I mean, I'm sure that you take some manner of pride in your own achievements and I believe Commander Wenomir sees his common origins as proof that he's overcome greater odds than most yet doesn't want to lose his roots as they're the source of his pride. You yourself seem to take great pride in your own origins, do you not?" Ambrosia points out. She'd get back to the topic of Lady Mithar in a moment but she wanted to touch on this first.

[Ironsmith]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Naturally, Braon doesn't see it that way. Her previous experiences with Thanksmas (and her world's equivalent) didn't exactly point to a happy time for her, and she's sure at least a few of these people recognize her from the incident at Verdant Heights- even Sekhmet still seemed to judge her as a nightmare and fiendling first and foremost. So either she's a part of the celebrations, reminded of her old "family" and how much she wanted to be away from them, and miserable... or she's not truly welcome here, alone in a crowd, and still miserable, with a side helping of envy for those people who actually did seem to be enjoying themselves.

She's far too busy marinating in this sentiment to notice the obvious, though; that Anika was a completely different class of person from her old family, and was going out of her way to be welcoming toward her. For the moment, she's dismissed Anika's efforts as strictly obligatory. The Thanksmas Bear was just doing her job, it didn't really mean anything.

Not that the gift wasn't nice. She could appreciate that, at least. Though it's going to be a while until she'll work up the nerve to harvest any gems from it (damaging the bonsai would hurt its resale value) and likely even longer until she can actually make use of them, since she's going back to a hell at the end of the day, but it's better than nothing.

Of course, she's also not the type to vocalize any of this to a complete stranger, even a well-meaning one. So the only response Anika will get will be an annoyed grunt and a hasty return to drinking eggnog from her self-refilling cup.

[Morty]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

"Michalson," the half-elf introduces himself curtly. "Findin' it around sounds about correct. Winter celebration dazzle. Doesn't bear askin' questions about. Or we might get the chant and get what's comin' to us." He glances over at Braon. "That might be just the way she is. Reminds me of myself when I was younger. She'll grow out of it. Hopefully."

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"To take pride in one's origins... means doing the best you can with what your lot in life is. Not discard it and resent it." A slight edge of discomfort creeps into Calm Reed's voice. She shouldn't say it about her commander. "His drive has somehow given him martial skill to rival that of the Exalted... or even a Forsaken Solar Anathema. But I worry if he can keep it balanced."

[Deathkeeper]

A Very Beary Thanksmas

”Uh, Aran. Another A-name.” Aran smiles, finding this coincidence funny. But still, that other lady needs to relax. Did someone drag her here? Definitely not someone he’d want to go to a party with.

[Shadowcaller]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

"Hmm? Sorry, dude. I couldn't make that out and I got these gigantic ears y'know?" Anika gestures at them. "But didn't offend you or anything did I? I do that sometimes but I promise you, didn't mean any offence." She raises both her palms as to display her peaceful intent.

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"Seems to me that Commander Wenomir isn't resenting his background. You said so yourself, he's proud of it." Ambrosia points out. "But what do you mean about balance though? What exactly is he balancing?"

[Ironsmith]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Braon glances up from her drink and finds herself in the rather awkward position of having three sets of eyes on her. Actually hearing what two of them had to say about her didn't help; Anika's worried she's offended and Michalson seems to think she's being immature.

Collectively, that kind of makes her the bad guy. Again.

Gods damn it.

"...I think that's enough for me for now." Braon mumbles. "If you'll excuse me." She goes to leave, specifically pushing past Michalson to do so. If that's enough to knock him over, so much the better. Serves him right for turning on her like that.

[5a Violista]

[Two Mothers]

At the very least, what Nahlrae said was much closer to 'hello' than what Manja said (which was nothing. Seriously, Manja, couldn't you at least manage a 'hi'?).
Manja looks back at Nahlrae, since he's definitely interesting enough to hold her attention. She likes his eyes, she decides. Different from most peoples'.
She blinks several times, rapidly, while looking at him. She would reach out at his face, too, but the way she's being held makes that difficult. So, instead, she just makes a chirping-like vocalization., almost certainly saying that she wants to pounce at him and would be okay wrestling him, if she ever managed to get away from her mother.


"Oh? Who's his father?" Harley asks, since Ilpholin brought it up. "Is he someone well-known or would I have no chance having heard of him?" That's the more important question. If Ilpholin says something like 'Stephen J. Walch' then Harley wouldn't know who that is.

But, more importantly, "I haven't really tried a tablet yet. I mostly like how, in libraries, similar books are kept together so I can find new stories that I'll like without having heard of it before." Which, obviously, tablets can't do. Obviously, you need to know what the book is called before you can find it on a tablet, because there's apparently no such thing as 'recommended for you' or 'more like _____'.

[Table]

A man is at the snacktable, using one of the free plates to create his own mix of sweets. Since he doesn't even eat one of them it might be strange to putt them on a plate.

[=> Table]

The slimegirl, freezing cold after taking in that snow, decides she needs to immediately warm up.
Hot springs? Fire? Heaters? No, she doesn't go to any of those.
Instead, she decides looking for somebody's body heat is definitely the best way to warm up.

Almost delirious from the cold, the slimegirl goes up to the snack table and goes up to the man at the snacktable. She gets close to feel his body heat, to see if that can warm her up.

[Morty]

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Michalson has been living with a bad leg for a while, so knocking him over isn't as easy as it looks. He braces himself on his good leg and bends back to avoid sprawling into the snow. He huffs.

"Well, that just happened."

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"You seem to know him better than I do," Calm Reed concedes. "But power is nothing if it is not used righteously. Commander Wenomir is using it righteously now, but he was not... raised to wield power. Not like my family raises their scions, or the other great houses of my homeland. His ambition and drive may get the better of him someday."

[Deathkeeper]

A Very Beary Thanksmas

Aran sighs and shrugs.
"Some people just aren't cut out for the holidays.
So um, what are you going to do now? I didn't think you called me over here just so you could have me watch you give folks presents." he inquires of the elf-lady.

[Earl of Purple]

After Snowball Fight

"Oh? Have you used it to bombard a beach with sandcastles on it?" What Mishnehel helped build there was a bit more than a sandcastle, really. She's being a bit disingenuous, because she's subconsciously aware she doesn't know why she doesn't like goblins or fae, and is seeking justification.

Mishnehel laughs at the 'meeting cute angels' comment. "I think that first thing counts as 'throwing snowballs at strangers'. And forever's a long time, I'm still getting used to that." The idea that she's functionally immortal- or even truly immortal, she's not clear on the details of if killing her will kill her- is a big thought, and she hasn't really put her mind to it, either. "So exploring the ocean, huh? Find anything cool?" And that also explains the pirate ship.

[Zefir]

[=> Table]

The slimegirl, freezing cold after taking in that snow, decides she needs to immediately warm up.
Hot springs? Fire? Heaters? No, she doesn't go to any of those.
Instead, she decides looking for somebody's body heat is definitely the best way to warm up.

Almost delirious from the cold, the slimegirl goes up to the snack table and goes up to the man at the snacktable. She gets close to feel his body heat, to see if that can warm her up.

[=> Table]

The man appears to be a normal human for the purpose of body heat. There are some other things that are off, but none a person can see. Unless magic is visible for them which would make them wonder why there isn't any near that person. However the man is a bit distraced as he picks up the snacks and only notice something has made it into his personal space. He turns around and says "Yes?", assuming someone stands right behind him, assuming the slime girl is kinda standing he notice her and looks confused at her. Should she just crawl on the ground then he won't notice her and just starts looking left and right. Maybe the person who wanted to get closer just left in one of that directions.

[Recaiden]

"No, I haven't. I should try that. Conquer a whole beach, usher in a new age of sand-warfare!" Actually, she could probably do a lot in the sand-castle-preservation sphere.

Omiko nods. "It's hard to really appreciate. I've been like this for 300-some years, and it still isn't easy to handle."

"Absolutely, the ocean is great. Shark people, wrecked submarines, giant ancient crystal ruins, sunken temples filled with dark spirits that turn the very fish against you, a giatn hole ni the waves where the water is shrunken..."
"Anything particularly good or bad 'bout being an angel?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"Power can corrupt even the most righteous of intentions, yes." Ambrosia admits. "But aren't those exposed to it from birth even more likely to fall under its sway?" She makes a dismissive gesture. "Though I digress. I'm not here trying to question your beliefs and ideals after all. Rather, it seems to me that it's all the more reason that you try to temper and guide him, doesn't it? Not directly of course but you did say that you believed that Lady Mithar is more suited to lead, correct? So perhaps you should talk to her. Find out what she thinks about Wenomir's role in the organization."

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

"Uh, okay. Bye dude! And good luck with that tree!" Anika then waves farewell before turning to the others. "Man, I could have used a tree like that. Oh well." She gestures for Aran. "So did you want a present as well or did you already get one? Since there is this Father Winter look-alike that's actually supposed to give you those."

A beat and Anika suddenly seems to recall something.

She turns to Michalson. "Oh, you know Ithuriel right? Pink human with wings?"

[Earl of Purple]

After Snowball Fight

"Well, I can eat practically anything now, so that's a good thing." Given she's powered by a miniature star, it's fusionable materials she needs, not standard nutrition. "I also find myself more easily angered. Well, not angered, exactly, but... I want to climb the Tower and that needs violence, so sometimes I respond with violence when maybe I shouldn't. And that's bad." Or, at least, Mishnehel doesn't like it.

[bc56]

Reindeer Games
Jade catches the bell. "Doesn't really matter. In the end, if you want to beat me, you'll have to catch me!" Winning by beating Reuma wouldn't be much of a challenge for Tuuli, and Jade's betting Tuuli would prefer a challenge. With a soft poof, Jade vanishes. In her place is a nine-tailed red fox with a pair of fake antlers perched precariously on top of her head and a pair of bells hanging in her mouth. She takes off running across the snow, making a foxish laughing sound as she goes.

[Meowmai]

Spoiler

Show

Spraypaint and Blackfire

"Eh, figured I could step away from busting baddies for a bit to come see if anyone around here is chill enough to hang with. You had just enough spunk to catch my eye, otherwise I was gonna go see if I could wrestle that moose lady or something." The dragoness gives a deep inward breath, the whole cigarette vanishing into ash. The slit eyes settle on the half-angel's face for a moment, recognizing the disgust, then the exhale comes. This time, however, it is not smoke, but a billowing plume of the blackfire, which is strangely heatless. Reaching into the plume, the hot-blooded beast pulls what looks to be a feather made of flame, which they hold and stare at for a few moments. "Not a bird? Then what's with the feathers?" The dragoness grins, the flaming feather vanishing into stardust. "You certainly aren't any angel I've ever seen. They are always high and mighty, heads all full of ideas about right and wrong, and the right way to deal with the wrongdoers. Keeps stuff from getting done, ya' know? And what's stopping you? That dragon doesn't look that tough, you could handle him no problem." The armored gal chuckles and playfully elbows the angel, intentionally going way soft.

"Yikes, home life got ya' down? I feel that. You could say my dad and I weren't on the best of terms." The woman pulls what looks to be an elder dragon tooth up on a necklace, the ends of the tooth singed and burnt by fires of heat legendary. "You don't have to tell me jack, if you don't wanna. I probably wouldn't listen anyways, featherball... but I get it. Wanna go grab some grub? There's a whole feast hall inside, and I bet flying all this way made you hungry." There is another flash of the sawteeth, but it's clear that the dragoness is trying their utmost to be at least somewhat friendly. In a kind of 'this shark would only take off three of my fingers if I fed it' way, but it's still an effort. "The name's Raine, by the way. Raine Helfeuer. What's your name?" The adventurer offers the angelkin a gauntleted hand, which would be a cool gesture since the gauntlet is covered in emblems of heroic deeds and adventurer's rankings, except that ends of the gauntlets were intentionally open and revealing the dragonesses sharp claws, like just another layer of razorwire on this warrior.

[Spraypaint and Blackfire]

Busting baddies, huh. That caught Atsede's curiosity. "What kinda baddies do you usually fight, then? You seem like someone who could handle a lot." The half-dragon was the first warrior Atsede have ever met, and she wanted to hear some stories. She watched the cigarette vanish, and the flaming feather that was withdrawn from that strange fire, with some fascination. This woman sure was extremely cool and mysterious. "I'm a Changeling," Atsede answered, like that clarifies things. Oh right, this is the Nexus. Her definition of Changeling's might well be different to this person's definition of a Changeling. Perhaps over there, Changeling's were a name given to fey children left in place of human children who were stolen away, or perhaps they were shapeshifters- or something ridiculous like that! "To keep it brief, let's just say my soul sorta got entangled with the soul of an angel and well..." She spreads her wings for a moment, "This was the result. So technically I'm kinda part-angel, but not enough to prevent me from doing anything fun." She takes the gentle ribbing with a slight huff.

She nodded along as the half-dragon continued talking, not really paying enough attention to immediately realise the significance of the fang around her neck. She wasn't gonna give this lady her whole life's story either, but she did shrug half-heartedly. "Yeah well, my parents suck, won't let me do anything fun. You know how it is." Her stomach rumbled. You know what? She actually was pretty hungry. Atsede very slowly and cautiously reached out to shake Raine's hand, careful not to end up spiking herself. "Uh, I'm Atsede." She responded a little awkwardly. "Let's go get some food, yeah." The Changeling was rather unsure of how to treat this whole thing. On one hand, Raine was unnerving and frankly scary. On the other, she did seem to be trying to be friendly, and she was really really cool. She did also seem to be the most interesting person around to Atsede's eyes at the moment, so... well it couldn't do any harm to hang out around her and see what happens, right?

[Reinholdt]

[Two Mothers]

At the very least, what Nahlrae said was much closer to 'hello' than what Manja said (which was nothing. Seriously, Manja, couldn't you at least manage a 'hi'?).
Manja looks back at Nahlrae, since he's definitely interesting enough to hold her attention. She likes his eyes, she decides. Different from most peoples'.
She blinks several times, rapidly, while looking at him. She would reach out at his face, too, but the way she's being held makes that difficult. So, instead, she just makes a chirping-like vocalization., almost certainly saying that she wants to pounce at him and would be okay wrestling him, if she ever managed to get away from her mother.


"Oh? Who's his father?" Harley asks, since Ilpholin brought it up. "Is he someone well-known or would I have no chance having heard of him?" That's the more important question. If Ilpholin says something like 'Stephen J. Walch' then Harley wouldn't know who that is.

But, more importantly, "I haven't really tried a tablet yet. I mostly like how, in libraries, similar books are kept together so I can find new stories that I'll like without having heard of it before." Which, obviously, tablets can't do. Obviously, you need to know what the book is called before you can find it on a tablet, because there's apparently no such thing as 'recommended for you' or 'more like _____'.

[Two Mothers]

Nahlrae ever so slightly leans forward towards Manja. She would pounce him? Try to take him out and assert her authority over him? A brave creature, but was she a fearless one? He wanted to see. He wanted to see her tear stained, broken face wailing in terror. But... no matter how hard he tries, he cannot bring himself to unleash his powers. Stunted by the magic of the season itself, Nahlrae was locked in a cage of impotence left only wondering what he could have accomplished in making her miserable.

Being only two doesn't help either.

So instead, he etches her face into his memory. If her fate didn't change itself, he would get another chance. She can't stay protected forever...


"Honestly depends on if you run in fey circles or not. So... maybe? Have you heard of the King of Rags?" Ilpholin asks Harley. She's guessing not, but you never know. Some names get around to unexpected places.

"Oh. Umm... yeah, I guess I hadn't thought of that." Ilpholin considers Harley's point a good one. The nymph is somewhat tech savvy nowadays, but not entertainment savvy and she certainly hasn't used any service enough to get a vaunted 'recommendation'. Why that would be revolutionary.

"I'm sure Inside has multiple libraries to check out though. I recall being in one once." She was not there to read and left when her business was concluded and couldn't tell Harley what street it was on.

[Morty]

[Thank Amassing Aegis]

"Perhaps I will." Calm Reed seems to consider the notion. "Raising concerns about her co-commander... it is something a monk is meant to do. We are meant to speak plainly to those in power, to uncover truth and steer those above and below. But the Nexus does not know the Immaculate faith and I have no such expectation on me here. Hopefully Commander Mithar will understand."

[A Very Beary Thanksmas]

Michalson blinks. That came out of the left field...

"Aye, I know here. She's my partner on the force. Why do you ask?"

[Deathkeeper]

A Very Beary Thanksmas

Aran knows that Anika is talking to two people at once but he has been asked a question you can’t ignore.
”Well. Um. I wouldn’t mind a magic present. If you’re offering.” he admits.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Reindeer Games

Tuuli's smile beams as if reflecting off the snow itself. "Oh yer on, little one. Hey Reuma... Ah think we need ta' remind someone who's faster... vulpins or ruminating beasts!" With a great chortle, the moose begins to take off after the fox, pushing snow to the sides in a wave that they very clearly occasionally divert to avoid some folks, and intentionally use to shower other folks already playing snow fights. Of course, in the event of showering a snowballer, Tuuli gave a rough Comin' through, Gangway or get slushed! And a big wink to those showered, as well as tossing a bit of wrapped candy from a pocket.

Reuma, on the other hand, gets a look like someone who was just presented a gift. She wasn't the best at throwing, or apparently sneaking up.... But if there was one thing pronghorns were, it was fast. Blindingly, wickedly fast, not quite like a leopard, but with a fair bit more endurance. As the healer took off, she transfered her remaining bells into a hand, aiming for the fox... It seemed unlikely that Jade was going to be able to retaliate at speed, so why risk throwing when you can catch up and place the bells on horns?

Spraypaint and Blackfire

"Eh? Kind? I dunno, the usual stuff I guess. Liches, abominations, dragon kings, and raiding armies, I guess. A little bit of most things, especially stuff other folks can't, or won't deal with appropriately. Ain't worth leaving a sprout behind in some places, so sommat' like an evil god's coven comes springing back up." The dragoness gives a soft shrug, the scales of the armor sliding, but remaining oddly silent, as if Raine were wearing a silence spell. There is also a somewhat dark tone to the statement, as if missing the empathy most hero types were known for. "Changeling, huh? There's a lot worse things to be part of than angel. I mean, imagine being half strong dragon, another quarter a second kinda strong dragon, then the last bit bein' an elven race really only known for tutti frutti magic and being good in the sack." Raine laughs, the comment given more as humorous self-degradation so that Atsede didn't feel so awkward about being half of something.

After shaking the hand, careful to squeeze but not overly hard, Raine takes a moment to sniff the air. "Well good news, hungry bird, I smell a good bit of food. You like ham? I love me some good smoked ham." The laugh and soft puff of dragonfire made it clear that Raine probably had smoked a few hams in a completely different way in her time. The halfblood leads the halfsoul, ambling gentle through the crowd, almost ignoring who is in front of her. Not that it mattered, a single stare and most folks parted ways for them anyways. " So if your parents are keeping you bottled up like a genie, what do you get up to for fun? I was well into my career by your age, but I bet you've got something that keeps you busy, right? I seem to remember doing a lot of hunting when I was your age, then again I was less of a people person back then." It didn't take hardly any time at all for the pair to arrive at a door, Raine opening it for Atsede, the smell of a feast wafting from inside.

[bc56]

Reindeer Games
Deer are fast.
But foxes are tricky.
Jade is quick to get out of the snow and in through the open doors of the fort, where there hopefully isn't enough open space for her pursuers to get up to full speed. Yipping excitedly, she darts into the first open room she finds.